"Birds can transition from walking to running to the air and back again, without the aid of a runway or launcher. Engineering platforms for these kinds of movements are still missing in robotics."

In the new paper, Chung and his colleagues demonstrate the algorithm's successful utility in three completely different experimental settings -- something that is very rare in robotics papers.

While robotics has witnessed rapid progress in recent years, modern robots still struggle to navigate and operate in complex, unknown environments.

I quickly forgot about the overhead depth sensors and surrounding robotics and drifted into calm.

LCEs can also play a big role in the field of soft robotics, Roach added.